Santa Cruz located on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, California, USA

Traveled more than 100km all the way from Danville to Santa Cruz to stay a night over at Santa Cruz with high hopes on seeing the Lyrid Meteor Shower on 22 Apr 15 which is the meteors peak period. This location is assumed to have darker skies with low light pollution after performing some research on the sky conditions in this area. If time allowed, there is also another option to drive to the nearby Wilder Ranch State Park for stargazing. But Murphy’s Law just have to take place. On this night, the whole sky is filled with orange clouds and not even a star can be seen. Instead of focusing and growing the negative vibes, went back to Rio Vista Suites and tugged in bed early.

The skies still remain cloudy upon waking. After checking out the hotel, took a car ride on the West Cliff Drive to explore its beautiful coastal scenery in Santa Cruz. The Walton Lighthouse at Seabright State Beach and the Natural Bridges State Beach are truly amazing places that you must visit. Take some time to listen to the waves, relax and appreciate its serenity. Walton Lighthouse can be framed as a hand-troweled cone-shape topped with a copper roofed lantern with far away mountains as backdrop and surrounded by the huge waves of Pacific Ocean. Natural Bridges State Beach has natural rock formations jutting out into the water forming a natural looking bridge which has become the favorite spot for the birds to cluster. As evening approached, took a walk at the 100 year old Santa Beach Boardwalk to admire California’s oldest amusement park which is still functioning perfectly.